October 10, 2005
Poe, round 2
Edgar Allen Poe (selections) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
"And every gentle air that dallied,
In that sweet day,
Along the ramparts plumed and pallid,
A wingéd odour went away."
I chose this selection from "The Haunted Palace." I really liked the emotions evoked in this poem. The words lent themselves to understand a deeper meaning of the work, while the imagery was enough to make you wonder! I wonder what is the Haunted Palace. It has yellow banners, red-litten windows, and lots of beauty. So...what is it? I would guess that it is actually a good place, with a bad name. Like, it's the "right kind of wrong." We look for faults in it, but find the beauty and majesty in something we've been told to run from. It's hard to be drawn to this. Simba and Nala were guilty of this crime when they visited the elephant graveyard in the Lion King. (I'm almost done). This idea of an evil beauty segways into the poem "Epigram for Wall Street." It's all about gambling. Granted, it's gambling with a suit and tie, and can be much more secure, but it is gambling. It's that evil beauty we all fight for. Why, oh why, would a person take their $200 paycheck and invest it. They could lose it all. They could multiply their profits. It's a game of chance. You take your chance when you invest and when you investigate the Haunted Palace.
Posted by MeredithHarber at October 10, 2005 02:36 AM
Comments
I was not sure of the meaning behind "The Haunted Palace." Now that I have read your response I kind of understand what you mean when you say that it is "the right kind of wrong." The title gives the impression that it is some bad place, but the description of it gives another impression.
Posted by: Stacy at October 10, 2005 05:43 PM
I like the "Lion King" reference. Very creative. Yet I get your point- we are all drawn to things we know are bad, that we know are ugly yet...have a strange beauty to them.
You related the two poems well- you're right, they both embody that "evil beauty". While I took more of the "humor" from the Wall Street poem, it's interesting to see that you found the gambling message behind it.
Posted by: Nessa at October 10, 2005 10:15 PM